


The Good Old Days

by yoitopia



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Victor's POV, up to episode 7 at least
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-31 13:51:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8581015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoitopia/pseuds/yoitopia
Summary: The year he meets Yuuri becomes one of the most important ones in his life. Victor reflects on certain points of their story.





	

Winning has become dull. Don't get him wrong. He still appreciates the success and support of his fans. But it became too predictable by now. _He_ became predictable. And that leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. He gives the audience his usual smile, too used to put it on whenever a camera flashed in his view. He's been a person of medial interest for so long now, he knows exactly what his fans expect from him, the expressions and words the press wants of him. What photos and what quotes make a good headline.

He is at the peak of his career, the only thing left to do is to break old records, records that he set himself. Get even higher points in his short program and his free skate, get the most consecutive wins of the Grand Prix Final, the World Championship and the European Championship.

Worst of all, Victor lost his motivation. While he is still able to create his program, had the technical aspect on point, he didn't feel it anymore as he used to.

Maybe he is getting old.

When the press asks him about his plans for the next season, for once, he doesn't answer with his usual phrases. No promises how he will surprise everyone with his new program and no cheerful statement how he looks forward to the next season. Instead, he answers with a noncommittal evasion, leaving his options open and the crowd wondering.

A solution for his future plans comes completely unexpected in the form of a video one of his rink mates send him. Victor tries to make sense out of it, tries to analyze it. What exactly does this guy have that Victor doesn't? But staring at the screen doesn't give him any answer to his self-imposed questions.

He could faintly remember him from the last Grand Prix Final. His form was atrocious, enough so that it made Victor wonder how he even made the cut to the final. But this performance of his free skate is nothing like the one at the final. Not only does he nail jumps he couldn't before, he shows an unrivaled vulnerability and honesty, longing and love, everything that Victor tried to emulate when he skated it, but couldn't create properly.

It speaks to him, calls out to him. And with a determined face, Victor makes his decision.

\- - - - - - - -

He has been in Japan before for various competitions but he barely found the time to explore more of the country outside of the ice rinks and his hotel rooms. Now it's different. He has the time to indulge in the delicious Japanese food and get to know the culture that spills out of every pore of this small sleepy town. Yuuri turns out to be just like he imagined, a bit shy and reserved, overwhelmed by Victor’s sudden appearance in his home.

The only thing that didn't turn out as expected was that somehow, he had two students to teach instead of only the one he came for. But without Yurio the Onsen on Ice event wouldn't be happening and Victor likes the idea of a competition between the two of them. He planned to coach Yuuri even if he turned out to be the same nervous mess as during last year’s Grand Prix Final. After all, Victor can work with that, spark confidence in him, and build him up to be the skater Victor can so clearly envision in his mind. But Yurio's appearance gives Victor the chance to test Yuuri. He knows that he tends to make some of his decisions on a whim, resulting in a few less ideal outcomes. The Onsen on Ice is the thing that would determine if this time's whim will turn out to be the salvation to his motivational crisis he hopes for or just end up being a disappointment.

And Yuuri doesn't let him down. Victor is enraptured. This performance Yuuri shows during the Onsen on Ice shows the same promise, had the same appeal, of that video. Sure, on a technical point of view, he still lacks the finesse and the finishing touch. But his expression...

Yuuri's whole being is immersed in the story of the program, and Victor gets sucked in right along with it. Whatever Yuuri envisions when he skates, it is different to the training session he supervised. Yuuri forgot about Katsudon and found his true eros.

Victor can't keep the pleased smile from his face. This is what he came for!

\- - - - - - - -

Yurio left without telling, the only thing he leaves behind is a message that only consists of a selfie where he flipped him of. Yakov will have to be the one to deal with him and have all the fun. Victor will solely focus on Yuuri. It is fun, drawing out all the different reactions from him and to see his development. The more time they spend together, the more Victor is able pinpoint the whole potential that sleeps inside of him.

They basically spent their complete time with each other. Training, eating, bathing. Every minute they are awake is a minute spent together. Only when sleeping are they apart because Yuuri still insists on it despite Victor's insistence to breach this last barrier between them.

He asks Yuuri what he wants from him. He has his suspicions but when he addresses them, he only gets shot down. Quite vehemently so, that in the end his suspicions stay. There was no rush anyway, they have time.

Yet somehow, that talk on the beach they shared makes Yuuri open up more. He's more talkative, more honest, and more approachable. He shares more and more of his thoughts with him and that’s something Victor is highly glad for. Before, he had to resort to teasing and getting into Yuuri's face to get unguarded reactions, but now Yuuri gives him insight on his innermost thoughts and feelings all on his own.

It's not something Victor appreciates solely on a personal level, it also helps him to complete Yuuri's free skate choreography. Yuuri wants it to be about his entire skating career - a deeply personal and intimate undertaking - and he finally found the confidence to share it with the world in form of this new performance.

Victor is glad that he's the first person to see Yuuri open up so much.

\- - - - - - - -

The next months go by in a blur. Most days pass exactly the same, filled with training, training, and more training. A harsh treatment just like he promised.

Every once in a while something happens that relieves their daily schedule a bit. Like the summer festival of the town or birthday parties for Yuuri's friends and family members. The biggest break comes more unexpected when Yuuri hurts his right ankle after a particular bad landing of the quad salchow. It leads to a full week of recovery and recreation, and they spend the forced downtime with extensive talks to get to know each other even more.

It leads to long evenings where they do nothing but sit together on Victor's bed, close enough to have constant body contact, and talk, retelling stories of their childhood and teenage years. Yuuri has countless questions about his past competitions even though he already seems to know all kind of details about them. But Victor is more than happy to share his memories and past experiences with Yuuri.

Victor can't remember the last time he felt so close to someone.

\- - - - - - - -

His official coaching debut comes sooner than he at first thought when he came to Japan. Yuuri's previous failures make it necessary to compete in a national competition. But as far as Victor sees, Yuuri is clearly ahead of his fellow competitors. As long as he skates like he does in training this should be an easy win. Still, it will serve as a nice dress rehearsal for the Grand Prix Series. To see how much Yuuri changed and how he will cope with the nervousness and mental strain that are mainly to blame for his past shortcomings.

Curiously enough, Victor feels a form of excitement he hasn't for a long time. Even if this is just a small national competition with only four skaters, even if it’s not Victor who’s participating, he still feels the thrill of the competition. This is not his first competition, but the first as a coach.

And when Yuuri skates he is once again reminded why he became a coach. He is reminded of how seducing, enticing, and simply just enthralling Yuuri can be when he is in the rink. He can’t look away.

Excitement. Pride. Joy.

He relishes in these feelings and in how Yuuri's success feels as if it's his own. He often wondered why Yakov kept going as a coach when, most of the time, he is irritated and angry at his students' behavior. Maybe this is the reason. He knows that Yuuri was a huge fan of him, maybe even still is, but somewhere along the way, Victor might have become a fan of Yuuri.

Victor can't wait to feel all of this again. He looks forward to the next competitions.

\- - - - - - - -

His first real challenge as a coach emerges in China. He knows by now just how nervous Yuuri gets before a competition but this time it's something graver. He doesn't know what the best way to handle Yuuri's anxiety is, and the tactic he chooses turns out to be the worst of all he could have chosen. It worked during the Onsen on Ice after all, where the thought of him going back to Russia motivated Yuuri to show his wonderful rendition of 'On Love: Eros'. But this is different, a complete new situation, one that he utterly miscalculates.

They walk back to the rink in silence, the atmosphere between them a bit awkward. Normally, Victor is able to charm the crowds and make them fall head over heels but, in this moment, he is still at a loss and doesn't know how to comfort Yuuri properly.

Yet once more, Yuuri surprises him again and again. First with the tap on his head, to show him that things are okay between them, and only shortly later with that little change of jumps. It blows his mind. Before he realizes what he's doing, he runs to the opening of the partition because the need to be close to Yuuri becomes unbearable.

Yuuri doesn't win the cup as his free skate still has too many technical mishaps, while other skaters shine during theirs. But he knows Yuuri is capable of even more. And there is still more than enough time to get it right. And as long as Yuuri's performance will be constant and he manages similar results, the way to the Grand Prix Final should be paved for him.

Victor promises himself to become a better coach and to always stay by Yuuri's side.

\- - - - - - - -

It feels good to be back in Russia. While he likes Yuuri's hometown well enough, returning to the familiarity of his own country has its own kind of charm. He shows Yuuri all of his favorite places around Moscow, from the typical sights all tourists come for to some more out of the way places only locals know about.

When they got to the ice rink, Yurio is as welcoming as expected and greets them with insults and taunts, declaring his own superiority as he poses another challenge, much to the delight of the reporters who just love a good story of rivalry and revenge.

And revenge he got. It is a head to head, with Yuuri leading after the short program and Yurio winning the free skate, but in the end, Yurio wins the Rostelecom Cup by a slight margin while Yuuri comes second again. Yurio got his revenge this time around but this placing is enough for both of them to advance to the Grand Prix Final, and from the determined look at the victory ceremony, Victor knows that at the final event it will be Yuuri who gets revenge for today's results and wins the gold medal.

Victor will do everything in his power to make it a reality.

\- - - - - - - -

His heart stops when Yuuri's eyes seek him out the second his performance is over. It is nothing new, how much they both are drawn to each other after a successful appearance, but today seems especially intense. The moment their eyes met, they know it. This is it. This was the best performance of Yuuri so far. This was the best skate of the whole competition.

He loves this man. Victor has never been so sure about anything in his life.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Victor?" Yuuri calls out, peaking his head into their living room.

"Hmm."

"Are you done with the photo album?"

"Almost." Once he opens the book, he can never stop himself from looking at the photos from the time they'd first met. "You used to be so cute, you know."

Yuuri blushes. "St- stop reminiscing and hurry up. Yuuko will kill us if we're late for the triplets' graduation," he says as he leaves him alone again.

Before he closes the book, Victor turns the pages until he lands on the last photo he just stuck in a few minutes ago. He smiles at the picture of their 10th anniversary celebration and at his husband's happy face that radiates up at him.

They’ve come a long way.


End file.
